Adulthood
by Emoosey
Summary: In which Pucca realises it's time to grow up and, rather unexpectedly, Tobe decides to join her. [Pucca/Tobe]
1. Tobe

**In which Pucca realises it's time to grow up and, rather unexpectedly, Tobe decides to join her.**

* * *

Tobe had a plan – a meticulously crafted, carefully deliberated plan. This was the plan to top all other plans. He and his ninjas had stayed up all of last night, pouring over how-to-trap books and data they had collected on Garu until their eyes were rimmed in red. He then ordered an all-day nap until now, this evening, when the plan would take place.

It was a great plan. _A marvellous plan! _So splendid was this particular scheme that Tobe had trouble not celebrating his sure victory before he had claimed it. He was so confident, so elated. Tobe looked back on his youthful self and laughed at his naivety. Such silly plots he had devised_. _Now he was older, smarter, far stronger, and, if it was possible, somewhat more dashing.

Soon he would meet up with his ninjas to put his best yet anti-Garu strategy into action. But for now, he had some final arrangements to make. He could not afford for any mishaps. This would run smoothly (just so long as his idiot followers didn't mess it up this time).

He needed some items. _A grass skirt, yes. Flower bracelets, check. Coconuts, I can get them at the beach— _He stopped walking, stopped mumbling instructions to himself, and stared.

She sat on the cliff, bathed in a patina of orange from the descending sun, dark hair tightly woven into two knots on the top of her head, dressed in red, dressed in black. She was just as she always was, the way Tobe had always seen her, yet today – for some reason inexplicable to him – he stopped. He stared.

Pucca may have looked the same, but she felt different.

Tobe didn't often pay Pucca attention. She had been a nuisance in their younger years, a source of distaste a while after, but then she had just disappeared. Well, not so much disappeared, she was always around, but her presence had waned. Pucca had no longer been around to intervene in his and Garu's fights, no longer there when he demanded the early ninja special at the Goh-Rong, no longer there to stumble across his traps. He didn't really get out much, not really, but when he did go out- primarily when seeking vengeance or noodles- he didn't see her. Not as much as he once had. Once she had been anywhere and everywhere Garu had been, stalking, meddling, giggling, fighting, kissing— _Horrifying, _Tobe thought, as an image of an eleven-year-old Pucca accidentally kissing him instead of Garu flashed to the forefront of his mind.

She was certainly no eleven-year-old now. A good six years had passed since then. Though, oddly, nothing much had seemed to change. Everyone went about their business as they always had. The only change of any drastic force he could tell of was Pucca's lacking presence in Tobe's life.

Yet now she was before him, clear as the light of day. Thoughts of hula dancers, ninja seduction techniques, and coconut bras slipped straight from Tobe's mind. Without thinking much about anything, he stood still and watched Pucca sit rigidly in the last of the day's light.

Her legs were crossed, her back was straight, and she settled her hands on her lap. She breathed, slowly, calmly, almost like a martial arts respiratory exercise. But Pucca had never taken any interest in training – not like her friend with the chicken, not like the shirtless man, not like his rival had. She had decidedly remained a noodle girl, an astonishingly strong noodle girl at that. _How strong could she be if she trained? _The notion came to him swiftly. _And would it be possible to tap into that power for myself? _Undoubtedly the raw power Pucca had demonstrated in the past would, if in his hands, help Tobe finally triumph over Garu once and for all. No doubt, recently he had been doing much better in his fights, but with just a bit more strength—

It was a daft idea. He didn't linger on it.

What was he doing? He had a plan to execute. He didn't have time to stand about watching noodle girls sit. Today could very well be the day he gained vengeance against Garu, after years and years of painful embarrassing failure. He couldn't dilly-dally here. He had coconuts to find.

He turned, determinedly, fully prepared to leave for the beach below, but once again Tobe found himself stilled. She had breathed in a deep shuddering breath, one that made Tobe face her again and even walk further up the cliff path to a point where she was bound to become aware of his presence. He may be a man of guile, a man of calculation, but he was also a man of instinct. Pucca had spiked his interest. He was curious and this curiosity was an instinct he most always followed.

Pucca jumped as he approached. She wouldn't have been expecting anyone this far away Sooga Village. After all, he hadn't been expecting anyone. Her head snapped towards him in a violent jerky manner that was so unlike her. For a moment, Tobe was convinced she was going to attack him and he readied himself in a stance to meet her, but then the moment was gone and she went back to facing the ocean, letting her vigilant eyes shut as they had been before. She was being peaceful, then so would he. He had learnt throughout the years that engaging in unnecessary combat was both a means of wearing himself out and making a fool of himself.

He stood beside her, watching the waves lap up the jagged cliff side for a while. But he was not a patient man. Quickly, he grew tired of the silence and decided to breech the source of his curiosity directly. "Why are you all the way out here?"

Pucca opened her eyes again and let them settle on Tobe. He was surprised to see a certain sombreness there. _How Intriguing. _At first, Tobe waited for an answer. Her silence was enough to raise his ire. He felt himself bristle, almost ready to ask again yet this time in the harsher tone he was better known for. But then, Pucca gave a noncommittal jerk of the head towards the mass of blue waves that crashed and swirled along the coastline, a sigh escaping her lips as she did so.

Tobe had practically forgotten that she, like Garu, had taken a vow of silence. He hadn't seen her in such a long time... He _had_ forgotten.

It was a bizarre thought, or lack of thought he supposed, to not recollect a fact he had grown up with. Tobe blinked, still feeling rather startled at himself, and asked a new question. "You're here to see...the sea?"

Initially she shrugged, but then she seemed to mull it over, and gave him a stiff head nod instead. "Ah," Tobe said in acknowledgment, simply because he felt it would be rude not to acknowledge it. But then when had he cared about being rude?

He was finding it strangely hard to talk to a person who didn't talk back, considering how much time he spent yelling at Garu. Garu didn't talk to him, or yell even, and he didn't find it disconcerting in the slightest. He reasoned that in a fight you hardly stopped to worry about the momentum of conversation. Conversation was the last thing on his mind.

Tobe continued to stand, shifting awkwardly, until some crazy part of his mind decided it was a good idea to take a seat next to her on the patchy grass. If Pucca was alarmed or bewildered by this she didn't show it. _Isn't she meant to be the open book type? _He could only wonder where all her openness had gone.

Silence had fallen again, something Tobe was now discovering he hated. He felt the urge to fill up the quiet, an urge he had never had before – not around all his ninjas. _It must be a lonely life to be under a vow of silence. _A feeling swept through him, one he was quite unfamiliar with. It made his chest pang. It wasn't sympathy, was it? He tried to shake the sensation away.

"You're pretty far away from your boyfriend," he said, smirking at his cleverness. His wordplay could hit two birds with one stone, to satisfy his curiosity and gather intel on Garu. _Ingenious, Tobe. You are ingenious. _He tilted his masked head towards her, raising an amused eyebrow at his own brain's workings. "Lover's Quarrel?"

_Silent lover's quarrel, _he amended mentally.

Pucca said nothing, as expected. All the same, Tobe had expected some kind of reaction. A scowl at the very least, if not a full blown defensive explosion at the mention of Garu. She did none of the sort however. She remained still, hands clasped in her lap just as they had been a moment before, eyes forward just as she had kept them previously. It took him a while to realize she was shaking. Her lips trembled.

In a sudden, aggressive movement her hands went flying up to her hair, wrestling the ribbons out of their place. It was fierce, the way she yanked at her hair. _Angry, _Tobe thought. Or maybe angry wasn't quite the word for it. _Aggravated_ seemed a better fit.

In a tumble of dark locks, her hair came out of her odango style and fell over her eyes, where frustrated tears were beginning to form. Tobe had been completely taken aback by the reaction, not expecting her to break in such a way at the mention of Garu. Least of all had he expected her to cry. Tobe did not do well with crying.

"Th-This is s-stupid!" Her voice came as a shock. It was a strangled, guttural sound that was no doubt meant to be a shout, but after years of silence would only come to her as a hushed crackle of human voice. Hearing herself only made her cry more. "I'm f-fed up. I'm sick and tired of this."

Tobe didn't know what to say, what to do. He could only manage to exclaim, "You spoke— Your vow?"

"It doesn't matter." Her voice was starting to come back to her. It was getting louder, stronger. "I took that vow when Garu took his. I kept it up as Garu kept his up." Tobe was getting what he had wanted from Pucca – this was the information he had poked for. So why did he feel so wrong for hearing it? This was the deepest depths of Pucca's mind pouring out in a flood of pent up emotion. He felt rather stunned by it all. She had been an enemy figure for so long. He had a right to be stunned by it.

"It doesn't matter anymore..." Pucca repeated bitterly.

Tobe wasn't sure if he actually wanted to push Pucca anymore than he already had, but he did anyway. It would hardly do him good to stop his pursuit of knowledge now. True ninjas did not lack resolve like this. "What doesn't matter?"

"Feelings," she said, "Not when they're not returned."

"Why doesn't it ma—"

"Because it hurts. A lot," she choked it out before Tobe could even finish his question. She was bursting with what she had repressed. He could practically see her coming undone at the seams. Apparently even Tobe made a good catalyst for conversation. "That's why I've got to grow up. I can't be the little noodle girl in her odangos looking for love. Not anymore."

Tobe wanted to ask more, but he faltered, his question slipping away before it could even pass his lips. He felt rather stupid to keep probing the topic. Interrogation didn't feel right – not when the person being interrogated was crying and entirely willing to spill everything on her mind. A true ninja had resolve, of course, but shouldn't they have integrity too?

He was almost happy for Pucca to ask the question this time, if it wasn't for the subject matter. "What's that?" She sniffed, pointing to the grass skirt he held in his lap with a tear splattered hand.

"A-Ah..." He had forgotten all about his plan. He had to leave now if he wanted to be ready in time for Garu to get home from his evening training session. But now, as he gaped, wide eyed, gaze switching between the grass skirt and Pucca's glumly curious expression, he suddenly felt ashamed. _Grow up? _It was a notion that had never seemed to cross Tobe's mind, or anyone in Sooga Village for that matter. He had thought he was grown up. He was twenty-one – strong jawed, well built, tall – a man. He had to shave, for heaven's sake. But that didn't make him a man, did it? Not really. He thought, and thought, and then it struck him. The realisation of how little he had changed since he was fifteen was startling. He was no more mature than he had been six years ago. Still he concocted schemes that often resulted in his own comical failure, still obsessed over Garu, and still lived bunking with a multitude of other young men in what may be called a clubhouse by some.

Perhaps it was time for Tobe to grow up too.

In one swift motion the ninja threw the grass skirt over his shoulder. "Nothing. It's nothing," he told Pucca. He fumbled for a moment with the edge of his mask, but quickly managed to peel it off his head. Like with Pucca's odangos, he took away his mask. Tobe wanted to move away from what had defined him for so many years, just as Pucca had surely wanted to do for herself.

Pucca blinked in surprise for a moment and then her lips twitched. Her breathing had suddenly become rather sporadic and breathy. At first, he panicked that she may have been having some sort of fit – he wasn't good with medical issues – but soon Tobe realized that she was laughing. _How rude! _His face was no cause for laughter. He had a handsome face... Right?

Tobe felt unexpectedly self-conscious now. "What?" he barked, scowling.

Pucca did her best to stifle her giggle but she really wasn't doing very well with it. She tittered for a while longer, her laugh becoming fuller and louder with each second that passed. Tobe watched her sourly. She was not crying anymore, but he was not happy that this change of mood was at his expense. And he still did not know the why she laughed at him. "Spit it out," he demanded. "Tell me the cause of your annoyingly vehement laughter!"

She pressed a dainty hand to her mouth, physically having to quell her laughter in order to answer him. "Well, a few things I suppose."

The reply was far too vague for Tobe's liking. "What things?"

"Oh, I suppose the first would be..." She motioned up to his hair and performed and twirling motion with her finger. "It's a bit crazy."

Tobe quickly understood. His hands shot up to his head, where he promptly set about flattening it. He was mortified to realize his face was heating up from the embarrassment. "Mask hair," he muttered shamefacedly, "It's troublesome. What are the other things?"

Pucca was near grinning now, not quite, but nearly. A smile definitely suited her face better than tears. Is this what she had looked like all those years ago? Tobe had never paid any attention. He was now though. "Next thing," – It was quite an enchanting smile she had – "I have never really seen your face. Not recently at least. You look a lot older."

"And that is something to laugh at?" Tobe frowned, feeling somewhat indignant. How was his age, something he could not control, amusing to her?

"Oh no, you have a rather lovely face. I find it funny that you keep it hidden so often."

Somehow, Tobe's face was more flushed than it was even a moment ago. She knew how to make him uncomfortable, that was for sure. Was she doing it on purpose? Was she poking fun at him?

_No, no. She couldn't be. _Tobe sighed. He was being too guarded. He had wanted to grow up. He would act like it. "As of recently I have taken to wearing my mask less." _As of a few minutes ago more like._

She hummed a laugh. "Good." Pucca turned back to the sea, looking far more energetic than the state he had discovered her in.

He found himself reflexively smiling along with her. It was an infectious expression. "So... Is there anything else that made you laugh at me?"

Surprisingly, no more laughter came from Pucca. In fact, her smile slipped straight off her face. Tobe had not been expecting that. "Yes, there is," she replied, in a tone Tobe would have to call distant. "That you're here and I'm here and both of us are nowhere near Garu."

There was melancholy in her words, a nostalgic glumness. She laughed again, but this one felt empty. "Childhood is harder to let go of than I thought."


	2. Pucca

**In which Pucca believes she is an adult, yet others still don't treat her as such.**

* * *

Pucca lay on her bed, lips shut as tight as they had always been and Ching wriggled happily on a beanbag, gushing about her long-time crush – Abyo. He had stopped her from falling into a patch of brambles today. It was a very heroic moment, apparently. Ching simply couldn't get over it or, more so, _him_.

"He doesn't often show his caring side, you know." Ching told her. "He's always putting on some manly act – fighting, ripping off his shirt—"

If that heavy blush wasn't a dead giveaway of Ching's deep-rooted feelings for their friend, Pucca didn't know what was. It was another thing that hadn't changed. For years Ching had been pining over Abyo, yet nothing had changed in their relationship. If Pucca could speak she would have told her friend to confess to him already, make the first move to change.

Of course, she _could_ speak (she had a few days ago after all), but there is a big difference between _could_ and _should_. Very soon after breaking her vow of silence Pucca had realised the weight of her actions. Vows of silence are simply not broken. To break one would mean to bring dishonour upon herself, her Uncles and the Goh-Rong name for decades to come. She may have given up on Garu, but she had not given up on the ideals he had imparted on her. Pucca would not bring that kind of shame. She had made her vow in front of Master Soo and had sworn that she would not speak for so long as Garu maintained his silence, and Garu would remain under his own oath until he was deemed to have completed his ninjutsu training and become a master. That could take years (a fact Pucca was all too aware of).

Unfortunately, her run in with Tobe, the very last person she would have expected herself to have a heart to heart with, had revealed the addictive nature of her own voice. Talking was like a drug and she simply could not get enough of it. She had caught herself muttering over a simmering bowl of noodles as she worked on more than one occasion and, when away from prying ears, in her room, she would engage in full-blown one-sided conversations with her cat Yani. It wasn't quite enough to talk though. Pucca wanted response and that was certainly something her cat couldn't give.

Ching sighed loudly and pulled one of Pucca's fluffy cushions to her chest. She was lost in thoughts of her crush, for sure. Pucca had been around Ching long enough to know that her tender expression meant just that. "Maybe we should go see Abyo..."

It was a wonder really, how Ching had remained her friend for such a long time. Didn't she get bored when Pucca didn't talk back?

"I bet he's with Garu." She was smiling cheekily now, Pucca could see from the corner of her eye. She chose to remain lying on her back, not acknowledging Ching's expression, watching a spider crawl leisurely along the ceiling instead.

"Hey," Ching said in mock disgruntlement, throwing the pink pillow she had cuddled at Pucca's face, causing the noodle girl to splutter in surprise as she got a mouthful of faux fur. Pucca frowned, sitting up now, and threw the cushion back at her friend with no true force behind her throw. Ching batted it away, giggling. "Did you hear me? I said Garu will probably be with him."

Pucca huffed, nodded, and then flopped back onto her bed. Garu was old news. _Very old. _She was trying to move on and of course it didn't help to be reminded of him by everyone in Sooga village every moment of every day. Somehow everybody was still under the impression they had some kind of romance going on, an impression Pucca had once been more than welcoming of, but now... Now she wanted nothing to do with it.

Ching rolled off the beanbag and edged her way towards Pucca. "Pucca?" She called in concern, gently prodding her friend. "Are you not feeling good?"

Pucca gave a non-committal shrug.

"I'm sure seeing Garu will help you feel better. You can show him your new hairstyle." Ching said, with words that were meant to incite Pucca, which they may have done some time ago, but now they did anything but.

Ching, her closest friend, didn't even realise Pucca no longer wanted to chase Garu around. She thought that Pucca wearing her hair down was a new way to impress Garu when, in fact, it was a declaration to the world of her change and maturity. It just showed how much everyone was stuck in the past.

"Please, Pucca." Ching pleaded, pulling her best puppy dog eyes.

Pucca shook her head wearily. Those eyes wouldn't work on her today. She couldn't be near Garu, not until she was sure she wouldn't slip back into her old ways. It's not like she could suddenly stop caring for him. Things like that came gradually, with distance and time.

Ching moped for a little while, but she said she understood. Of course, she didn't understand, but Pucca had no way to bring that to Ching's attention. "You're ill. I get it Pucca. Don't worry." _No Ching, you don't get it. That's the problem._

Her friend left with a warm goodbye, scooping up her pet chicken from the floor and promising to tell Pucca's Uncles that she wasn't feeling well. The door shut gently behind her and Pucca was left alone.

Pucca flipped onto her front and groaned into her pillow. _So much for growing up. _Everything was just as it had always been. She had been foolish to think everything would change just because of the undoing of her odangos and an oddly emotional chat with a former enemy. Crying in front of Tobe – what was that going to achieve? Nothing life changing, that's for sure. But, she thought, in a sudden horror, maybe her life would change and not in a good way. She had been so resigned on that clifftop, so done with everything that her life was, that she hadn't truly cared that she was spilling her soul to Tobe. He had taken an unlikely interest in her and he was removed from her situation. At the time, he had seemed the perfect candidate to unburden herself upon. But what if he were to tell on her? _Citizens of Sooga village, your beloved Pucca has broken her vow of silence! _No one would believe him. Surely not...

Pucca pushed off of her bed. She began to pace. "You're an idiot Pucca," she muttered to herself, "An absolute idiot." She had no one to talk to, so she had talked to Tobe, the only person who had ever rivalled her obsession with Garu (just in a slightly different way). _Stupid Pucca. Stupid. _He would want to use everything she had told him against Garu. He would want to ensure his downfall no matter who else he brought down along the way and, indisputably, he wouldn't care if Pucca was left to ruin. She had spoilt enough of his plans in the past for him to be glad of a way to hurt her.

Still, he had seemed genuinely interested in her troubles. He had sat with her for so long... He had even smiled at her. Pucca had never seen Tobe smile so pleasantly in all her time knowing him. Granted, she had never paid him too much attention before, only when he was out to get Garu. Maybe he wanted to change too. Maybe he—

Pucca's window opened with a _slam _and the noodle girl shrieked, staggering back into her book shelf in alarm. A shower of thick volumes came from above, Pucca barely protecting herself from the novels by throwing her arms over her head. The bookcase was rocking precariously behind her, and just as she feared it would fall and squash her, the shelf was righted and the books stopped dropping.

For a moment Pucca sat still, huddled at the base of her bookshelf, eyes squeezed shut. But then she heard a relieved sigh from somewhere overhead and very slowly she opened her eyes to see who had invaded her room.

How bizarre it was to see Tobe hovering over her, completely dishevelled looking, his unmasked face flushed from exertion and with clothes covered in small sharp makibishi (the kind she had seen Garu throw so often in training). They simply stared wide-eyed at each other for a while, Tobe with hands pressed firmly against her unstable furniture, panting, and Pucca sitting dazedly in a pile of books.

Pucca was the first to break the silence (ironically). Surprisingly, she summoned a small smile for her trespasser. "Hello again." It certainly felt good to talk.

"Hi," Tobe breathed out, undoubtedly just as surprised by the oddity of events.

"Pucca!" A muffled voice came from beyond her door. It was her Uncle Dumpling. "Pucca sweetie, hold on!"

Pucca didn't spare a moment. She sprang up and pulled Tobe across her room. With incredible speed and strength, she had Tobe lying underneath her bed before he knew what hit him. "Wha—" Pucca shoved her hand over his mouth, using the other to place a finger against her lips, signalling that he needed to be quiet. Tobe would likely later berate himself for complying so easily, even if Pucca had saved him from the potential wrath of a very niece-protective chef.

The bedroom door burst open and in came running Pucca's Uncle Dumping. Pucca jumped up to face him. "Pucca, are you alright?" He took a hold of his niece's arms and examined them, frowning anxiously. "You're hurt. What happened?"

Pucca pointed towards the bookshelf, trying her best to give her Uncle a reassuring smile when he still looked perturbed. "I should get something to sort them out," Dumpling said, eyeing her bruises, "And how about some medicine? Ching said something about you not feeling well."

Pucca shook her head vehemently, quickly rushing over to her bedside draws in which she took out a pot of salve and remedies. She showed them to her Uncle, willing him to deem them acceptable. "Well," he sighed and smiled weakly at Pucca, "I suppose you're prepared enough without me. Come downstairs if you need anything Kiddo."

Dumpling gently ruffled her hair, a gesture that Pucca was not sure whether she loved or hated, and left the room. She hung her head despondently, thinking of how (just as Ching had) her Uncle still treated her as a child. He even called her 'kiddo'.

Lost in thought, Pucca almost forgot she had a ninja hiding in her room. She practically jumped out of her skin when his hand emerged from below the bed. She collected herself quickly enough and helped Tobe crawl out from his hiding spot, seeing him flinch as the makibishi scattered across his front and back dug in further. He stood, looking rather peeved (all signs of earlier pain wiped from his face), brushing dust from his clothes. "Do you ever clean under there?"

"No, not really." Pucca said slowly, torn between her unexpected initial happiness of seeing Tobe and the more sensible wariness that her mind was urging her to act on. "Next time I'll make sure to run a broom down there before you come in through my window uninvited."

Tobe had the decency to grimace apologetically.

"What are you doing in my room?" Pucca asked him frankly and then, upon seeing the beginnings of blood beginning to splatter on her floor, said uneasily, "And why are you so injured?"

Tobe's face soured. "Garu decided to use me as target practice."

"What did you do this time?" Her words were laced with weary accusation and she could only try to ignore the heavy feeling settling in her stomach at the mention of her former love. "You know provocation will only end up with retaliation."

"That's the thing, I didn't _do_ anything. It was when I walked past him and did nothing that he attacked," Tobe said with a grunt, pulling out one of the star-shaped metal pieces from his arm.

"And you're in my room because...?"

"Closest method of escape," Tobe muttered embarrassedly, "I saw that your window was ajar. It didn't really click that it was _your_ room until I got in here..."

Pucca truly didn't know what to say, which was odd, she thought, for as a person who rarely got a chance to talk she should be brimming with unvoiced conversation starters. But this was Tobe. Never in her many fantasies of discourse did she dream up words she may say to Tobe.

He was still very much a novelty.

After a while of staring much too uncomfortably at each other, Pucca could only sigh nervously and mutter, "I think we both need patching up." She turned away from the ninja, feeling slightly frazzled, and made her way over to the bedside draw where her medical provisions were kept.

As Pucca rummaged for suitable remedial supplies, in the midst of trinkets and childhood junk she had not yet found it within herself to relinquish (much of which once belonged to an extremely embarrassing Garu shrine), Tobe took the liberty of settling himself on her bed. Pucca scowled into the draw but made no comment.

Tobe ran his eyes once over her room and, with a bit more than a hint of distain, he said, "It's very pink in here."

Pucca was suddenly realising the anger she should have felt when she first saw Tobe in her room and could only wonder why it was triggered after such a minor affront. She should have been furious the moment he stepped through her threshold. Why she had been happy before she could not fathom. She was absolutely seething now. She turned on him, arms full with salve and painkillers, teeth grinding. "That is the commonplace appearance of a room that once belonged to a little girl."

Yet still she was behaving courteously towards him. He had come into her room uninvited. She should have kicked him out ages ago, throwing books at his head as he went to see how he liked it. But she didn't. She was irked, but she didn't.

Tobe was only now appreciating that his precarious state of sanctuary relied upon Pucca's good nature, something she was sure to lose if he pushed the boundaries of his role as unwanted refugee too far. So he backpedalled, quite promptly, "There's nothing wrong with pink of course. I haven't been in many girls' rooms before, you see. I'm not familiar with this kind of decor."

She may have laughed at Tobe's recant – '_not familiar with this kind of decor' and 'I haven't been in many girls' rooms'_ – yes, it was certainly laugh worthy, but she needed to be peeved. She could not simply stop being irked by a man who intruded on her privacy. That would not be normal. But Pucca had never been entirely normal.

"Yes, well," she said tautly, lips quivering with contained amusement, "I'm not a little girl anymore. I was thinking about painting the walls a new colour."

Tobe was in the uncomfortable state of not quite knowing what to say but he was able to gather the impression that silence would only make the situation that much more uncomfortable, so he could only settle for an awkward, "That's nice."

Being angry would be good. It really would. She wanted to be, but alas she could not keep back the grin she had been holding. Watching Tobe squirm was much funnier than it should have been.

Pucca dropped down onto the bed beside Tobe, smiling now. "It is, isn't it? I was thinking a light plum colour." Tobe could only watch in bewilderment as Pucca busied herself by unscrewing a pot of antiseptic cream, no doubt baffled by the sudden change of mood. "Start taking the rest of those makibishi out, will you? They can't stay there forever."

"A-Ah, right." As if only just remembering he still had multiple weapons protruding from his chest, Tobe quickly went about pulling them out, barely even seeming to feel the pain now. Pucca could only presume that she had stunned him and she really couldn't blame him for it.

For a little while, just the idea of her sitting with Tobe like this made her giggle, to see him so closely and not just as Garu's enemy (then to an extension hers). She was able to see him as a fellow human, just a human and nothing else. No doubt the bizarreness of the situation was reflected in Tobe's thoughts too, but Pucca was the only one laughing about it.

Her laughter died down as she saw the blood pooling in the rips of his clothing. "He really got you good..." _Garu_. Garu really got him good, but she didn't think she could quite manage saying his name aloud yet. It would be an acknowledgement and an acknowledgement alone could easily set her back on the nearly inescapable path of infatuation, _because it had been an infatuation._

_Not love, _Pucca tried to convince herself.

"Hardly," Tobe snorted, "We've been in much more volatile scrapes than this one – and I didn't even attempt to fight back this time."

And now that Pucca thought about it that really was strange. Tobe didn't take the chance to take a shot at Garu. She didn't understand it. Surely Tobe should be taking every opportunity he could get to fight Garu. That was the way it had always been after all.

"Take your top off please," Pucca said, hands already prepared with a cloth and dollop of antiseptic cream.

Tobe complied reluctantly, seemingly rather perturbed by the idea, but needless to say it would be a foolish idea to argue with a horrifyingly strong noodle girl (even if her strength had not been truly tested in quite a long time).

She rubbed antiseptic into his cuts and every so often felt his muscles tense under her hands. Clearly Tobe was not used to such contact. Pucca on the other hand was very familiar with feeling up male chests (though that had always been Garu's chest and more often than not it had been non-consensual on his part).

"So why didn't you fight—" She felt _his_ name catch in her throat and coughed noisily to cover up her momentary stumble, "G-Garu?"

Tobe looked down at her sharply and, for a moment, she thought he was going to hit her. Instead, he posed a question back. "And why didn't you speak to your Uncle? You're vow is broken now. You don't have to stay silent."

It was now Pucca's turn to feel the hot shame of embarrassment. She ducked her head, stopping her application of salve, and spluttered out, "I-I asked you— f-first! Answer mine."

"How immature," Tobe droned, not quite sardonically.

"I am not!" She exclaimed shrilly and moments after realised the absurdity of her denial. It merely reinforced his comment. "I don't want to dishonour him, okay?" She said in a poor attempt of gathering any semblance of maturity she may have had. She would be the bigger person about this. "Not my uncles, not the restaurant, not myself."

Tobe watched her thoughtfully and soon mused aloud, "And if people see you've broken your vow they'll assume Garu has broken his. Instant dishonour. He really is all about his honour..."

Pucca sucked in a gasp, feeling her face heat up – no longer from discomfort but hot fresh anger. "You wouldn't—!" _I knew it was too good to be true._

"No! No, I'm not— I don't do that anymore," Tobe said hastily, "I'm not trying to hurt Garu anymore."

Pucca didn't know quite what to believe. It was a struggle to imagine Tobe giving up an adversary he had pursued for years and years of his life. Garu was not that easy to let go of, Pucca knew that.

"Why?" She asked him.

"Truthfully?"

She nodded. "Truthfully."

He shifted uncomfortably. Pucca assumed he was reluctant to be any less 'Tobe-like' than he had already been, but he did answer her and she could safely say she was shocked by it. "Well... You."

"Me?" She gaped in incredulity.

"Before, when I found you, er," Tobe bumbled, as Pucca narrowed her eyes at him, in a warning, as if to say, _you better not say _crying, and he managed to adapt his words last minute,"near the beach, you said about growing up and you made me realise that I was still a child. A kid in a man's body. I can't go on fighting Garu like this. It would just be..."

"Pointless," Pucca breathed out and struggled hard not to let her eyes mist up.

Pucca understood. She understood so well it hurt. She watched him with empathetic eyes and she took up his hand into her own and tried to pass on a whole monologue of thoughtful words through a simple sentence. "We all have to reach adulthood at some point."

Tobe stayed for a while longer as Pucca finished up treating his multitude of small cuts, afterwards informing him that they probably shouldn't scar too much. Tobe grumbled that he didn't care either way and soon departed (after peeking out her window to check if the coast was clear). Pucca was left alone in her room to think mostly about trivial things (noodles, cats and fallen books) and a little more than she should have about Tobe.


	3. Tobe II

**In which Tobe grapples with the very confusing and mature topic of real-estate.**

* * *

Tobe peered at Pucca over the top of his menu. She had as of yet to notice him, which he supposed she could not be faulted for considering that, for once, he was visiting the noodle bar on his own (without his regular posse of inept ninjas), he was no longer wearing his identifiable mask (before now he hadn't realised how clammy wearing that thing had made him) and she was currently balancing an ungodly amount of plates in her hands (_really, how hadn't they toppled yet?_), obscuring any view she may have had. But still, he was very much irritated by the lack of attention from the noodle girl. He would have complained that his desire for Pucca to finally catch his eye would be for the fact he was a ready-and-waiting paying customer, but ever since that day on the cliff side he found himself quite scrambled in her presence.

For a while now his fingers had been tapping away on the table with unchecked verve. He thought it quite possible nail grooves would be appearing soon. He didn't want to admit it, but he was a little nervous. After all, it had been some time since he had last seen Pucca. The last time had been the exchange that had taken place in her bedroom. What a tumultuous exchange that had been, so much so it made the time he spent away well needed to cool down. He hadn't planned on bursting into her room then, but his flight from his ex-rival Garu called for it and it seemed that one action had cemented that strange empathetic connection they had shared at their previous meeting.

Eventually, after a few more minutes of painful waiting, watching her give half-smiles to every patron but him, Pucca looked up from taking a customer's order and met Tobe's eyes, blinking, surprised. He saw he mouth fall open in a little 'o', before she scuttled across the room towards him. When she reached his table, he couldn't contain himself and exclaimed, "Finally! I almost began believing you had given up working here altogether. You don't know how many attempts it's taken to find you on shift." Then he realised what exactly he had said. _Did that sound creepy?_ He wasn't sure. He really didn't want to come off as creepy. "Err— I mean—"

She cut him short, asking, "Why are you here?", in a low voice, unfazed and blunt, and if it were anyone else Tobe would be angry at them for their discourteous terseness. But Pucca was a different story – she was always a different story – for her eyes were wide and owlish, looking upon him only in curiosity, waiting with genuine attentiveness for an answer. He could see she did not mean this rudely, because he could tell she _knew_ he wasn't here for just noodles. He wasn't sure whether to feel let down that he was so easy to read or impressed that Pucca was so astute. Perhaps the latter was better. It did not paint him in such a poor light.

Now that Tobe had Pucca's full attention, an unwavering coffee-coloured stare, he wasn't quite sure if he wanted it anymore. His stomach was clenching in quite an uncomfortable manner and, while he wouldn't exactly place the blame on Pucca, there certainly hadn't been any discomfort before she began looking at him with such intensity.

He coughed into his fist, awkwardly, and shifted his gaze away to push the Sooga Village newsletter across the table. Across the front was an advertisement of the Goh-Rong. "I've heard there may be some real-estate up for grabs here."

Pucca straightened up to look around the restaurant briefly, eyes lingering on the doorway to the kitchen before leaning down to his level, so that there was little more than the length of a chopstick between them. She made a show of furiously wiping down Tobe's table, in a pantomime so convincing Tobe almost believed there was an unbeatable spot of dirt on the surface, as she whispered to him, "You want to rent out our room?"

He gave a stiff nod, much too preoccupied with the sudden change in proximity to form real words.

Pucca huffed good-naturedly. "You know you didn't have to find me to enquire about it. In fact, it's my Uncle Linguini who is managing that. It says so," – she tapped the newsletter – "right there."

"Yes, well," he flushed and scrambled to find an appropriate excuse to the fact he had barely read the advertisement, finding the small print far too tedious, because he had been a bit too keen to bring up the topic with a certain noodle girl, "I'm hardly well-liked by most. Don't you think it would help my case to have you at my side?"

She seemed to mull this over, before responding, "Ah, well, I guess you're right about that."

Somehow, Pucca agreeing with the fact he wasn't well-liked wasn't something he had wanted to hear. "Thanks," he scowled a little and said in a tetchy tone, "So, will you help me?"

"What's wrong with where you live now?" she enquired, again quite innocently, but this time Tobe was already annoyed, for reasons he couldn't exactly categorise.

He snapped at her, "It's a child's hideout, filled to the brim with bumbling, smelly, hormonal ninjas. So excuse me if I don't want to live there anymore!"

Tobe immediately regretted his outburst. Other patrons in the noodle bar looked over, surprised by the disruption in the sleepy restaurant. Those that recognised Tobe (and let's face it, who in Sooga Village didn't recognise Tobe at this point?) glowered across the room at him. He gritted his teeth at this, but it was not their reactions that bothered him then. It wasn't with them that he shared a new (_and tentative and scary, but so very rewarding_) relationship.

He watched Pucca, apprehensively, waiting for her to respond.

Unfortunately, he didn't know what it meant when Pucca pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows at him.

He floundered, silently, not sure what it was Pucca wanted from him. _Think Tobe_, he told himself, _think!_ He mentally scolded himself with a slew of curses when nothing came to mind.

Clearly recognising his internal distress, Pucca rolled her eyes, but Tobe could see the tone shift in just her body language. She didn't take what he said to heart. _Good_. He couldn't help but blow out a relieved puff of air, causing little tufts of hair to balloon around his face, counting his lucky stars that Pucca's temper had evened out over the years (unlike his).

He supposed having Pucca giggle at his flustered state was a small price to pay for their continued…_this_. Well, he wasn't exactly sure how to classify their relationship at this current stage. He couldn't say they were friends exactly – no, he _definitely_ couldn't say they were friends – but that wasn't for a lack of trying. Having a friend in Pucca, it would be good. He knew so. He could feel it. Just the idea, the possibility, gave him a happy buzz that he could not remember ever feeling before.

He was on golden tenterhooks, alight with plans were so wonderfully devoid of Garu. Before now, he hadn't realised how the preoccupation had bogged him down. He felt so much lighter when focused on other things, like exercise, good food, a new home. Like a giggling noodle girl.

Watching Pucca grinning wild, like a playful cat with the most entertaining ball of yarn to ever exist – and, _hell_, if that made him the ball of yarn he didn't even care, because no one could say that ball of yarn wasn't appreciated – Tobe thought to himself, _I think could get used to this._

Soon enough, Pucca was jotting down Tobe's order, surprising him by knowing what dish he preferred without asking (_one early ninja special coming right up_), and in less than ten minutes he was digging into a bowl of freshly prepared noodles, left with the promise of a meeting with Pucca's Uncle Linguini (with Pucca as mediator) once she was off shift. As Tobe ate, he watched Pucca flit from table to table, her previous half-smile grown long into a full-blown grin. Every now and then, she would catch Tobe's eye and become bent double, giggling away again. She was remembering him flustered and that was okay, more than okay, because his ability to make her smile in such a way caused a swell of pride to overtake him. The other customers in the noodle bar looked fondly at Pucca, no doubt reminded starkly of Pucca in the prime of her childhood, when she had been her most carefree. Of course, these people didn't realise Pucca wouldn't be like this if not for him. It made him want to shout, slam his fists down, leap upon the table, declaring, _yes, citizens of Sooga Village. It is true. Your dear girl Pucca smiles because of a scoundrel like me. How does that make you feel? How blind you were! _

_And how blind they still are…_ Tobe deflated at the thought.

How selfish could he be? Here he was day-dreaming about ripping the wool from the villager's eyes, when he should really be thinking of why it was there in the first place. Poor Pucca had to accept the opinions people formed of her throughout the years, with no way of arguing. She was the image they projected onto her. Whatever form they believed a noodle girl should take was what she became. She had no voice to fight it.

Their negligence, their utter ignorance and disregard, of all the introspection and nuances involved in the formation of a human being was reprehensible. For years, Pucca had been wilting before their very eyes and no one had the intelligence— no, the consideration to piece together her situation. She was so lonely. Behind all her fronts (fronts she barely placed effort into the upkeep of), was a person stripped so bare and so sore that Tobe unsure how he had missed it before. Yes, he hadn't seen much of her in previous years, but he had had glances. It only took him a glance now to see Pucca's anguish. He had been just as blind as the rest of the village. He was just as angry at himself as he was them.

Even now, Tobe hadn't thought of Pucca at all. How childish of him.

Soon Pucca returned to him, her apron gone and long dark hair, which she had previously worn in a ponytail while she worked (_not odangos_), was let loose around her shoulders, some flyaway locks pinned back by hair grips on either side of her head. Tobe would have been brooding into his noodle bowl, still simmering with self-detestation, but he couldn't help but look up when Pucca pranced over. He found himself liking the way her hair curled softly around the curvature of her arms, the way her sleeves (which had previously been rolled up for cleanliness) fell a little too long over her hands, and the way her shirt dipped slightly between her small bre—

Tobe flushed deeply, shifting his gaze away, while Pucca smiled at him blithely, unaware of Tobe's wandering eyes. God, he was really beginning to hate himself. He had always thought of himself in a rather positive light until recently. Had he always been this unpleasant?

He supposed they had both been children then and Pucca hadn't a lovely matured – _ahem!_ – but now – _ugghhh –_ he really wished the ground would just swallow him up.

Pucca leaned forward to say into his ear, "Come on," her warm breath causing a little jolt to run through him, and then she tugged him up by the arm, "time to meet my uncle."

_Oh._ He had forgotten about that. He tried not to grimace but could not help letting out a lacklustre (_and not at all sarcastic_) little "yay", as Pucca pulled him along into the backrooms of the Goh-Rong.

When they passed into the kitchen, the first thing they saw was the back of the Goh-Rong's door-mat dishwasher. Dada, was it? Or Dedo? Tobe couldn't say he really cared.

The dishwasher heard their footsteps and looked back over his shoulder with a smile, which immediately faltered the moment he met eyes with Tobe. "P-Pucca! What is he…?"

Pucca remained composed in the face of this babbling boy, merely smiling her delightful smile and placing one of her elegant fingers to her lips. That boy was a goner. Totally smitten. He shut his mouth in an instant, blinking dazedly in the wake of her charm and no more words left his lips as Pucca pulled Tobe away, any disputes of the boy's became garbled as they faded into an enamoured sigh.

Tobe was led across to the other side of the kitchen. He looked back over his shoulder at Dada, with a brow raised in appraisal. As Pucca ducked her head into the storage room to look around, most likely for any of her uncles, Tobe stooped with her to whisper, "You do realise that boy is putty in your hands?"

Pucca's eyes flicked towards him and he did not miss their sly little glint, as she smiled, though somewhat sheepish, and said, "Well, yes. Now I do."

"Now?"

The storage room was empty, so once again Pucca took a hold of his wrist and lead. "It took me years to work out. It turns out I'm not good with _that_ kind of stuff. It takes me too long to…", she trailed off, coming to a stop between shelves of spices and dried meats, her grip on Tobe's arm faltering until her hand dropped back to her side. It didn't take a genius to know she was thinking of his ex-rival.

He frowned and impulsively took up her hand instead. "Come on," without really putting much thought into the action, he gave her palm a reassuring squeeze, "we have to see your uncle."

She was snapped out of her pensiveness, shaking her head and blinking away misty eyes, "Oh, yes! This way."

They continued out back to the garden, a place Tobe had never been before and was surprised to find it so well maintained. He had never taken anyone at the Goh-Rong for a green thumb. Granted he had never paid much mind to those at the Goh-Rong, but still… fleeting impressions had provided as much.

A cobbled path ran from the back of the garden, around a small pond where koi carp swirled languid in the water, as rain pelted and disturbed the surface. Flowers grew in beds that lined the gardens perimeter, ordered chaos of ashy blues, blushing pinks, and bright yellow, spread like kaleidoscopic fire in the dirt. It was wild, it was pretty, and it had a simple charm to it, _much alike a certain someone_, he thought and found his eyes drifting towards the girl beside him.

Pucca suddenly darted forward, startling Tobe from his musings, to prod her uncle in the back.

Uncle Linguini, who had been on the sheltered patio, till then unnoticed by Tobe, sat in a wicker chair, cigarette dangling from his lips, smoke going up in plumes, while he watched the rain pitter-patter against the stone. At Pucca's tap, Linguini jerked, nearly toppling back out of his seat. "H-Huh? I was just— I didn't—" He aimed his niece his most innocuous smile, while 'surreptitiously' plucking the cigarette from his lips to hide it behind the arm of his chair. Yet the smoke still bloomed. "Yes, sweetie?"

It took only three seconds of Pucca's scowl for him to give up the act. "Alright, alright. I know you hate it." He dropped the cigarette to the ground, twisted his boot into it, and shunted his chair around to face them. His smile remained, but then his eyes ran over Tobe and the smile dropped like a stone in water. His gaze travelled to their hands, still entwined, and he narrowed his eyes. This Tobe had failed to notice, but now that he did the velvet warmth of Pucca's skin on his was significantly more apparent.

He released Pucca's hand quickly.

"I see you've brought a guest," Linguini said flatly to Pucca, though his eyes were fixed drilling into Tobe's skull.

Already this was going poorly. Tobe somehow felt like he wouldn't escape this patio unscathed, let alone convince this man to rent out his room to him. He felt a little foolish to allow himself to be intimidated by his position here too. He was a highly trained ninja. Linguini was an old fat chef. Yet there was something inherently menacing about the situation.

It seemed Pucca could see the imminent derailing of the conversation too, so she quickly slid in front of Tobe, nodding and flashing her teeth to the best of her ability. She gestured to Tobe, with a look that clearly said, _start talking, like, right now._

Tobe puckered his brow at Pucca, unable to help feeling annoyed with the unnecessary bodily protection she was providing him. He stepped out from behind the girl and approached Linguini as genially as he could manage, but his steps faltered as the old chef stood from his seat to face him. The chef had a good foot of height on Tobe and was particularly broad chested. Had Linguini always been this large?

"Well, uh, I am here to… here to…" – this man really was menacing – "_Iamheretorentoutyourroom_!"

The sound of Pucca's palm meeting her face was audible.

"You'll have to say that again, boy," Linguini spoke gruff, like he was hardened and punitive and stood behind a wall of 5-meter-thick steel, with eyes that could capsize your maturity in one glance, "I didn't get a word through that garbled mess of a sentence."

Why did he feel fifteen again?

Clammy and gawky, voice cracking, stance developing, mind running loops in double time just to keep up with everyone else. He wasn't tall yet, some pimples materialized on his chin (and those mornings he pulled on his mask without even having breakfast), his hair got greasy fast, and sometimes his evolving body failed him at the worst of times. All that shame, the embarrassment, left scattered, stripped, and spread thin before his rival. Sometimes Pucca. Often Pucca. All because of some old stupid family feud, the reason for the dispute lost to the ages, to their departed parents, to their supposedly dishonoured ancestors, and Tobe's monomania for Garu was running on pure fumes.

He never wanted to be fifteen again.

Tobe took a deep breath, steadied himself, and said, "I am here to ask about the room you want to put up for rent."

Maybe something about Tobe in that moment had affected Linguini, because now as he looked over Tobe his eyes lost that hard-boiled sheen and instead took on an aspect that seemed a bit more reminiscent of the one he reserved for Pucca. Tobe felt the chef's presence shrink back – only a smidge – and suddenly he could breathe again, suddenly he was twenty-one.

Linguini's scowl wasn't any less sever, but his voice was significantly less gruff as he said, "You're interested?"

"Yes, I am," and Tobe was so glad he could speak like a fully functioning adult again.

Linguini's scrutiny turned to Pucca now. "And your vouching for this young man as a worthy tenant?"

Pucca appeared positively shocked by the turn of events, gaping through the proceedings like a startled fish. But, as the seconds ticked by, she bloomed under their appraisal, mouth spreading wide and pearly white. Linguini's eyes glinted. Tobe felt warm.

Pucca was delightedly surprised.

She nodded at her uncle, vigorously, hair bouncing across her back, eyes crinkled with familial love. She was proud of her uncle. Maybe something else too.

Linguini's lips twisted, not quite a glower, not yet a smile, and he turned to Tobe. "Alright, let's talk real-estate."

* * *

_A/N: YAY! Finally, I've done the next chapter for this story. I've really missed writing for it. And the last time I updated... almost two years go! That's crazy. But I've got worse update scheduling than this so I guess this is actually pretty good for me. I'll try and carry on with this a bit faster in future. No promises though ;)_

_Thanks to everyone who's given some feedback. Its nice to know you love this as much as I am loving this! The world needs more Pucca/Tobe in my __opinion._

_Again, sorry for the wait. But here you go, a chapter I'm actually pretty proud of for your perusal._


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